Jesus told us to make disciples

Jesus told us to make disciples

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age.

We are commanded to go into the world:

The word "go" reminds us that building a community of believers has a purpose-it is a means to an end, not the end in itself. We are a sent people with something to do for God. We have been invited onto God's mission. God's mission has been the redemption of His people since time began. We do not separate ourselves from the world to avoid living worldly--which is disobedience to God. We discern what is redeemable in culture and reclaim it, renew it, and through it point people back to Jesus.

We are commanded to make disciples:

Our engagement of the world has a purpose and a tool to accomplish that purpose. We make disciples by preaching the gospel. It has been said that "everything preaches." The truth of the gospel should permeate all that we do, from our advertising to our preaching. Jesus is the beginning and end of all things, the hero of every story, the aim of all of our efforts and praise. We are not saved by the gospel and then changed by obedience, but the gospel itself transforms us as it goes deeper into our hearts.

We are commanded baptize in people:

Baptism is the natural result of making disciples and planting churches. Baptism is an act of obedience to the command of Christ, fulfilled by individuals who have received His forgiveness and submitted themselves to His leadership. In essence, Baptism is a public funeral symbolizing the individuals crucifixion with Christ and a public celebration of new life in Jesus Christ who now reigns as Lord and King in the life of the individual. Not only is Baptism apublic identification with Jesus, it is a biblical rite of initiation into the universal church as well membership in the local church church.

We are commanded to teach people to obey Jesus:

God's objective in this life is to make us look more like Jesus and do what He said (including the command to go and do all these things). We aim to live like Jesus commanded us to live, which means living as he lived in and among the people. Specifically, we live NO MORE than Jesus and NO LESS than Jesus. By no more, we mean that we do not build self-righteous rules that are simply attempts to work our way back to Jesus and minimize the need for the atonement. We also recognize God will not accept less than Jesus and requires perfection. In our dependence upon the cross alone and Jesus living in us (Galatians 2.20), avoid both self-righteousness and self-indulgence.